What is Blography?Blography is a photography based blog following myself as I travel across Western Canada taking photos of bikes. Having only lived in Canada since October 2009 and spending almost all my time at Big White enjoying the winter season, it will be an adventure to remember. My trip is going to take me around one of the world's capitals for mountain biking, traveling from place to place, hooking up with people to ride, shooting bikes, and having one hell of a good time.
More inside...www.laurence-ce.comWho is Laurence CE? If you haven’t worked that out already, I am Laurence Crossman-Emms, and I am the man behind the camera. I have shot mountain biking and action sports for around 3-4 years, but am yet to go big with it all. Hopefully my time in Canada is going to help, but as it stands I’m just having a great time.
Originally from North Wales, UK, spent all of my life there, but decided to break the mold and do some real traveling. Canada was at the top of that list, the riding, the lifestyle, the people, it’s just the place to be, so I went for it and now I’m here living it up. Currently living in Kelowna, BC and working at Big White Ski Resort as a lift operator.
But with the season coming to an end, the dust is being wiped off the bike, the chain is being lubed and the riding is starting.
I have kicked off my trip with Kelowna, and I must say, it was one hell of a start to the season. Brian, a work buddy, and I hooked up with Kelowna locals Kai Wendt, Keeton Jendruck, and Neil Simpson, riders and builders of the “Skyline” jumps. It was here where we kicked things off.
Episode 1 – Summer is coming
Kelowna, BC – Skyline & Ben Lee
It was one unexpectedly nice day. The sun was shining and was so warm for a February morning. Having not ridden anywhere in Kelowna or Canada for that matter, I really didn’t know what to expect. Rock up “Skyline” jumps with Brian and Keeton, and my first impressions were WOW! For it only being February the jumps were looking pristine and big. With my rocking up on my full sus I felt a bit out of place but Keeton was rolling an RM Slayer so was eager to see what he could throw down. And straight out the gate it went down. This is “Skyline”.
But that wasn’t all. They had big ideas. And some of these ideas were in the form of a nice meaty Hip. It was pretty much all shoveled out, but needed some work. So we spent a good hour finishing it up and getting it ready to hit.
Finished it up and got hitting it. Just as we do this, the sun breaks through the few clouds that were about and gave us a perfect orange sunset, so had to make the most of it.
Just as we thought the day was over, someone mentions the park. So we grabbed a “Subway” and headed down to Ben Lee Skatepark in central Kelowna. Odd to me but it was the first concrete skate park I have ever been to, all of ours at home are wooden or metal. I was impressed. Was a real nice park with some great features. Hooking up with some of the Ben Lee locals and had a fun ol' session in the park.
There was a great sunset hanging right over the park, managed to reel off some sunset shots.
The sun soon went down and the flashes came out.
Overall, Kelowna was a great success and I had one amazing start to my summer shooting and Blography.
What’s next for Blography? Blography is hopefully going to be a weekly or bi-weekly blog, updating you guys with my travels. I am hoping to start my road trip around mid April, but I am still going to be having fun in Kelowna, including Kicking Dirt, Knox Mtn, and Postil, shooting with Kelowna locals including Casey Groves, Harrison Mendal, and many more.
Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://www.xconomy.com/wordpress/wp-content/images/2009/09/canada-flag.jpgMy road trip is hopefully looking to take me from Kelowna, to Nelson, Kamloops, and then on to Whistler, hitting up spots and trails along the way. Then spending time is Whistler, including coverage of Crankworx and other events. I will be looking for people to ride/shoot with and places to stay. So if you are interested, drop me a line and we will sort something out.
Hope you have enjoyed the first episode of Blography, with hopefully a lot more to come.
Laurence CE
www.laurence-ce.com
Nice to see a couple pics of me in there too (1st 2 pics)
How difficult was it to find a job/accommodation over there?
Great photos as well, looking forward to the next blog.
Gringo.
cheers